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Markus Dominius
Markus Dominius was a force sensitive human aristocrat from the temperate world of Domà Nunch. As the son of the patrician of the wealthy and beloved Dominius family, Markus was given the best education, cybernetic implants, and military training available on his homeworld. Although he generally got along with his family, he learned at an early age that manipulation and political intrigue was the only way to get ahead in his society. As a child, he thought it'd be funny to pull a prank on somebody of great importance which would inadvertently lead to their death. With his brother eventually disinherited and exiled from the family, Markus was by law the next in line to inherit his father's titles and lands. When he was a young adult his father died, leaving him as the sole heir. Over the years he learned enough about the political games of his people to realize that to truly get ahead, he would need to upset the status quo and essentially force a conflict between the common people and the other noble families. He made it a point to gain the trust of key members of higher nobility so he could go forward with his plans to expand his personal power and influence over the planet. Although he was successful, this would subsequently be the end of his entire family's base of power on the world, as a civil war broke out and one of his allies turned against him and captured his birthplace and seat of power, Barbatius Castle, slaughtering every member of the Dominius family that they could find. To his knowledge, Markus was the only one who escaped. After many years traveling deeper and deeper into the galactic core, Markus would eventually discover his force sensitivity which led him into the deep core. There he received visions of dark shapeless figures which would essentially train him to use the force as a sith lord. With his new power, he contacted the warlords of the empire and united them once again. Biography Birth and Early Life Born on the planet Domà Nunch in the uncharted region of the galaxy, Markus Dominius was the second son of Antonius Dominius, Baron of the Barbatius estate and Patrician of the Dominius family, and his wife Annia Lucilla in the year 15 BBY, Galactic Standard Calendar. The young Markus rarely got to see his father, as he served the Duke of Insubria as a military tribune. Because of his position among the noble class he was, like every other child of noble birth, given cybernetic implants to improve his physical strength, intelligence, eyesight, hearing, and speed. Markus and his older brother Gaius were great friends as children despite being separated by four years. When Markus was five and Gaius nine, the brothers were running around the castle playing games and a representative from the allied Victricius family had come to call the Dominii to arms against an attack from another family within the very decentralized duchy of Insubria. It was here where Markus unknowingly caused a lifetime feud between his father and his brother when he poured a small vial of what he thought was a harmless clear liquid into a glass of ale that was on its way to the Victricius representative. Gaius saw Markus at the last second and quickly snatched the vial from him and rushed to warn the diplomat before he drank his ale but it was too late. As Gaius came rushing out into the great hall with the empty vial of poison, he saw the diplomat's face flat in his bowl of soup with the glass mug of ale shattered on the floor beneath the table with his father, mother, and courtiers standing with confused and scared looks on their faces. As his father noticed him holding the vial, he swore he would never inherit any titles, believing him to be the one to poison the diplomats drink. According to customs of Domà Nunch, once the eldest son of a nobleman turned sixteen years old, his father would officially name him to be the heir to all estates and titles, but on Gaius' sixteenth birthday this was not the case. Though he had not forgotten about the incident with the Victricius diplomat, he believed that his father (who was still convinced that it was Gaius, not Markus, who poisoned the diplomat) would declare him as the heir. Instead when he woke up his father was nowhere to be found. Instead he was greeted by his mother Annia and a pair of Pontificates (Priestly order from Domà Nunch). It was on this day, his day of glory, that his father chose to dishonor him by having his mother inform him of his disinheritance. Teenage years Markus was twelve when his brother was disinherited. Although he was educated by the best scholars and trained by the best military minds his father could afford his whole live, it wasn't until now that he began to receive direct attention from his father. After his academic studies, military strategy studies, and vigorous personal training regimen, his father would also personally oversee his studies regarding rulership and diplomacy. Although his father never told him why Gaius was disinherited, Markus knew enough to piece it together and kept quiet on the matter, allowing his father to continue to believe that Gaius had killed the allied diplomat. As the years went by, he and his father (with help from the Duke of Insubria) had reconciled their differences with the now bitter Victricius family. After years of careful diplomacy, they had convinced the Victricii to be their allies again. The death of Antonius With careful maneuvering he and his father had gained strong allies in both the Duke of Insubria and the common folk of the land, repaired diplomatic relations with the Victricius family (or so they had thought), and gotten the attention of the Imperator of all of Domà Nunch. However, Antonius was a military tribune in service to the Duke and one day while fighting a local slave rebellion his father was fatally wounded in battle. Although he was carried away from the field and taken away to receive medical treatment, his wounds were far too serious and he died within hours. Funerals were not large events for the people of Domà Nunch, however Antonius was loved by his vassals and the common folk. Although Antonius' body was burned and all of his possessions were immediately granted to Markus, the young new Baron made it a point to break tradition and hold a memorial service for his now deceased father in lieu of a coronation ceremony. Although this upset many of the more traditional nobles, the common folk loved his father too much. Civil War in Insubria Four years after the death of Baron Antonius, the Duke of Insubria was growing old. Without a living son to inherit his titles, he instead named the twenty-two year old Baron Markus as his heir. Although everybody in his family disapproved, the Duke knew how much the common folk adored Baron Antonius Dominius and he knew they would support his son more than one of the Dukes own distant cousins so he declared it just minutes before his last breath. Nobody but Baron Markus witnessed the death and many nobles thought that it was too convenient that the Duke died minutes after naming Markus his heir. The Baron had the support of the common folk regardless, but many nobles contested his new inheritance. The Imperator himself even declared that none would inherit until all parties decided the issue and this would mean war. As he expected, the common folk mostly backed his claim. Even volunteers from other parts of Domà Nunch arrived at his court to declare their desire to fight for him. Even the Victricius family agreed to answer the call to aid the Baron's forces, but the distant relatives of the deceased Duke had amassed a large number of allies amongst the nobility. In the end, the Baron and his allies would come out on top. The Siege of Mediolanum was the bloodiest and longest battle of this civil war, lasting nearly a year by itself and costing over four million lives, but in the end it was Baron Markus and his forces that triumphed. After the battle ended, he entered the great hall of this castle knowing in his heart that the war was coming to a close. He would soon be Duke. His moment of triumph was soon interrupted by a messenger from his home, Barbatius Castle. The forces of the Victricius family betrayed Markus and stormed the castle while its had a minimum garrison and killed every member of the Dominius family present, including his Markus' mother. Flight from Domà Nunch After the mass murder of every member of the Dominius family, many of the Baron's allies began to lose faith, despite his army's many victories in the conflict and the occupation of the richest city in Insubria.The fact that his own personal estate had fallen and his entire family was slaughtered was enough for the Imperator to declare a clear victor to the conflict; the old Duke's third cousin was granted the inheritance. Markus' allies had mostly turned against him. Losing the war was considered a dishonor to his people, so it was expected of Markus to take his own life. If he was captured alive he would certainly be publicly executed, but Markus had no plans of dying one way or another. There were other worlds out there, so it was time to leave. Short career in the Black Sun In 15 ABY Markus would land on the twi'lek homeworld Ryloth and settle in for a few years finding jobs, looking to rebuild his estate far from his home world, though it seemed like the only jobs available were what he considered to be "slave work". Despite having almost no money (his fortune was back in his estate, besides the local currency would probably be useless in this new part of the galaxy), he turned down dozens of jobs simply out of a matter of pride, however he was eventually approached by a shady pair of individuals representing the Black Sun criminal organization which had recently had a hand in declaring Ryloth's independence from the Galactic Republic. Markus had no care for the politics of these worlds, he just wanted to rebuild a power base away from his home world and these Black Sun representatives were offering him just what he wanted - money and power - and all he had to do was coordinate their forces when they expanded their control over other worlds in the galaxy. He got paid well, but the attacks never happened and eventually the money began to run dry, so it was back to exploring for him. Good to be Baron, better to be Emperor As he traveled deeper into the core, Markus found himself hopping from one world to another yet again, and although he had not yet resigned from the Black Sun, he knew he was going to leave them soon. He made it as far into the core as Coruscant when he decided to relax and have a few drinks at a local cantina. Although Markus wasn't one to drink very often, he couldn't have been drunk, but he couldn't shake this sickly feeling, so he decided to go back to his hotel room and sleep it off. That night he had the strangest dream in his life. His brother, of all people, appeared to him and told him to go to the Beshqek system and that he would find all that he needed there. Although he shook it off as a silly dream at first, his mind kept wandering to Beshqek and so he set out deeper into the core. Eventually he landed on the fifth planet in the system, Byss, and explored until he found the Imperial Citadel. The entire citadel was completely empty, and even the locals went out of their way to avoid it. Inside, Markus found an empty throne but he wouldn't dare sit in it. Instead he'd walk away. All he could dream about for four days was the throne in the Imperial Citadel and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't help but go back every day for hours on end. On the fourth day, he was overcome with an intense sickness and after fighting it for half the day, he broke down and sat in the throne. Immediately he began having visions of the past and the future. It was at this point he finally began to understand. His brother, the Pontifex, was speaking out to him in his dreams. Baron Markus Dominius was now Emperor Markus Dominius and nobody in the Empire would question his claim. He disappeared from the public for some time after he took the throne to catch up on galactic events and learn the dark side of the force. The Pallato Accord After his ascension to the Imperial throne, Markus received threats from certain individuals in the Black Sun, declaring to him that he had betrayed his oath so Markus called for a meeting with one of the organizations top Lieutenants, paying back all of the money they had paid him during his time working with them. During the meeting, he told the Lieutenant that if the Black Sun were to swear allegiance to the Empire and do as he ordered, he would shower them in more credits than any of them had ever seen - and with his ascension to the throne he could definitely stand by that promise. His first order and test of loyalty was to have them execute the New Republic's Chief of State, Xaar'Emir. About a week after his meeting with the Black Sun Lieutenant, Vroxxus Hal'tin, Emperor Dominius then requested a meeting with the Republic's Chief of State to discuss plans for a new peace treaty and an alliance against the criminal Black Sun. As a show of trust, the Emperor informed the Chief of State that Imperial Intelligence had intercepted a message about the Black Sun plotting to create chaos in the Republic and Empire both by assassinating the Chief of State and other key officials in both governments so they would have an easier time expanding their influence to full military control both Republic and Imperial worlds. The two government leaders would then agree on a peace treaty that would include sharing relevant intelligence and defense from external threats such as the Black Sun. They would call this treaty the Pallato Accord. Confrontation with the Jedi The very first confrontation Emperor Dominius had with a member of the Jedi Order was after the Pallato Accord was signed. He was exploring the Republic capital world, Coruscant when pair of Jedi Knights, a Hapan known only as Alice and a wookiee known named Rorrkoru, confronted him as to what he was doing on Coruscant. The Hapan jedi, Alice, accused the Emperor of spreading darkness and corrupting the people of Coruscant and when he refused to leave the planet, she announced that she would apprehend him with force. The wookiee jedi, Rorrkoru, questioned her decision and pointed out that she was openly carrying illegal drugs whilst the Emperor was minding his own business and after a short debate, the Hapan declared the wookiee a traitor and was carried away by local authorities after civilians complained that she was creating trouble. A New Sith Order Almost a year after his confrontation with the Hapan and Wookiee jedi, relations between Dominius' Empire and the New Republic slowly began to sour. The Black Sun had found itself a new master, a Verpine known only as Acter. Wanted by the Republic for High Treason and the destruction of government and military property, Acter was now the Republic's most wanted. The Republic would withdraw from their occupation of Ryloth after making an agreement with the Ryloth Independence Council, an organization secretly controlled by the Black Sun. Seeing the truth of the Council, Dominius went directly to the source, contacting Acter himself and sealing an peace deal disguised as an engineering contract to repair weakened infrastructure in the Empire. Republic Intelligence intercepted news and the Chief of State declared to Dominius that the Imperial military was no longer welcome in Republic systems. Now realizing that war was going to happen eventually, Dominius met with one of his officers, a Zabrak by the name of Cadnsee Tarnistu, who was himself sensitive yet untrained in the force, and discussed the creation of a New Sith Order, breaking precedence set by the Rule of Two. Personality Markus Dominius is, above all things, known for his professionalism. He expects things to be done in a proper order perfectly and swiftly. Very few people ever got the chance to speak with him privately but those who have would describe him either as a cool-headed diplomatic voice of reason or a manipulative schemer. Who was the man at the core, though? Markus had a very strong and irritable choleric personality. It was in his nature to act first and ask questions later. It was only through his education as a child that he learned patience. Although he was not unskilled at personal combat, he would make it a point to stay as far from danger as possible. While many would call this cowardice Markus called it wisdom, as no man could pull strings and control the universe from the grave. NotesCategory:MaleCategory:Alive CharactersCategory:HumanCategory:Galactic EmperorCategory:Galactic Empire Characters Quotations